East Recap | Round 8 Saturday

Image credit: Sproule Sports Focus (@sproulesportsfocus)

Shyla Heal helped inspire Bankstown Bruins to hand Newcastle Falcons a first NBL1 East loss with overtime wins for Penrith Panthers and Sutherland Sharks while Emma Mahady and Riley Lupfer hit seven threes each for Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

EAST RECAP | ROUND 7 SUNDAY

WOMEN

Hills Hornets (39) lost to Illawarra Hawks (70)

The Illawarra Hawks dominated the Hills Hornets in the 70-39 win on Saturday as they snapped their own two-game losing ran and handed their opponents an eighth consecutive defeat.

Both teams came into the contest at Hills Basketball Stadium needing a win having combined for a 3-14 record between them entering Round 8 in the NBL1 East season.

Each team struggled to shoot from the outset combining to go 10/38 from the field in the first quarter including 2/14 from downtown but it was the Hawks clinging to the 16-12 lead by the end of one.

Illawarra kept building on that lead with another 17 points to 10 in the second frame even though the Hornets did hit three balls from beyond the arc to make up nine of their 10 points for the quarter.

It was then another 16 points to 10 in the third term from Illawarra to see the lead get out to as much as 19 points before the Hawks dominated the final 10 minutes with 21 points to seven from the Hornets.

Illawarra knocked down 5/10 from three-point territory in that last quarter on the way to securing the 31-point victory even if they did only shoot 34 per cent from the field for the game.

However, the Hawks held the Hornets to just 39 points for the lowest score this NBL1 East season by any team with them ending up shooting just 22 per cent from the floor and going 5/29 from three-point range.

Illawarra also dominated the board with 62 rebounds to 31 including 22 at the offensive end to improve to 3-7 with the victory with Ella Dent producing 17 points, six rebounds and four assists on 3/5 three-point shooting.

Asha Phillips added 12 points and eight rebounds, Ruby MacDonald 12 points and six boards, Tsubasa Nisbet 11 points and nine rebounds, and Kiara Bell 11 points, 17 boards, three assists and three steals.

Hills are now 1-8 on the season having lost eight straight with Elizabeth Smith doing what she could with 12 points and five assists with Jade Kirisome adding seven points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

HILLS HORNETS 39 (Smith 12, Kirisome 7, Clark 5, Gale 5, Worner 5)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 70 (Dent 17, MacDonald 12, Phillips 12)

Newcastle Falcons (68) lost to Bankstown Bruins (87)

The presence of Shyla Heal in the Bankstown Bruins line-up has paid immediate dividends with her delivering 29 points and 13 rebounds as they handed the Newcastle Falcons a first loss of 2025 with the 87-68 road win.

The Falcons were back home at Newcastle Basketball Stadium having won all eight matches so far this season on the back of also winning the last eight matches of 204 on the way to securing the NBL1 East championship.

The Falcons had been mighty impressive so far in 2025 defending their championship while Bankstown arrived in Newcastle having won just two of 10 games, but this was a different outfit with the addition of Heal.

Still, it was the Falcons leading by 22-20 at the end of the first quarter before they opened up a 10-point lead in the second term and it did appear they would be maintaining their winning run.

However, the Bruins did finish the first half strongly to close the Newcastle lead to just one solitary point at half-time and then after again falling down six early in the third, that's when Bankstown made their move.

The Bruins ended up outscoring the Falcons 24-14 in the third quarter to grab the lead, and then to put up another 24 points to 14 in the last term to secure the statement 19-point victory.

The win sees the Bruins snap the 16-game winning streak of the Falcons as they held the defending champs to just the 68 points on 33 per cent shooting overall and going 5/24 from downtown.

Bankstown only went 6/23 from deep themselves, but did shoot 43 per cent from the field and got to the foul line 32 times to just the 20 from Newcastle.

Not only was Shyla Heal into the Bruins team, but she was the major reason they got the victory finishing with 29 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals on 10/18 shooting from the floor and 8/8 at the foul line.

Juliunn Redmond added 22 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks, Jada Rice 14 points, nine boards and three blocked shots, and Sienna Tutani 10 points and four rebounds.

It's a first loss for Newcastle since June 16 last year against the Centre of Excellence with their winning streak stopped at 16 with MVP Nicole Munger finishing with 16 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists but shooting just 5/19.

Sophie Brennan added 13 points on 3/5 three-point shooting with Meg Jefferson contributing 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Hannah Chicken 11 points and nine boards on 5/17 shooting.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 68 (Munger 16, Brennan 13, Chicken 11)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 87 (Heal 29, Redmond 22, Rice 14)

Maitland Mustangs (65) lost to Penrith Panthers (68)

The Penrith Panthers scored the first five points of overtime which was enough to see them come away with the thrilling 68-65 road win over the Maitland Mustangs.

The Mustangs were back on their home floor at Maitland Federation Centre attempting to bounce back from last Saturday's loss to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles while the Panthers arrived also trying to respond to a loss to the Inner West Bulls.

Not only were they losses for both teams, but they were heavy ones so there was no shortage of motivation for each team to hit back with Maitland starting strongly on their home floor.

The Mustangs knocked down 4/9 from downtown in that first quarter to end up leading 23-12 by quarter-time before that lead got out to 14 points in the second term.

Maitland were still leading 41-29 by half-time but the Panthers began to make their move in the third frame by outscoring the Mustangs 20 points to 10 to cut the deficit to just two by three quarter-time.

The lead continued to exchange hands right throughout the fourth quarter including Teagan Edwards putting Penrith back in front when she knocked down a massive three with just over a minute to play.

Sydney Hunter responded going to the basket for Maitland to tie scores back up and that's where scores stayed at 63-63 by the end of regulation.

It was then the Panthers who came out to score the first five points of overtime starting with a Mia Heide layup and then a foul shot to Jordan Vasquez who then knocked down a shot too.

In the end from there, Penrith secured the three-point victory to improve to a 4-7 record on the season with Mia Heide delivering 24 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals on 9/15 shooting.

Jordan Vasquez added 20 points and nine rebounds, Teagan Edwards nine points, seven boards, four assists and two steals, and Zoe Jackson eight points and two rebounds.

Maitland are now 6-4 on the season with the back-to-back losses with Shakera Reilly finishing with 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Kasey Neubert added 15 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots, Alexis Plater 11 points on 2/4 three-point shooting, and Sydney Hunter nine points, nine rebounds and four assists.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 65 (Reilly 21, Neubert 15, Plater 11)

PENRITH PANTHERS 68 (Heide 24, Vasquez 20, Edwards 9)

Sutherland Sharks (79) defeated Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (76)

Emily Garland made three clutch free throws to get the Sutherland Sharks to overtime with the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders before Maddie Norris hit a huge late three in the extra period to deliver the 79-76 win.

The Sharks were back home at Sutherland Basketball Stadium on a six-game losing streak and having won just once so far in 2025 as they hosted a Spiders team also arriving on a slide of losing five consecutive matches.

Sutherland opened up a 25-20 lead by the end of the first quarter before the Spiders turned things around in the second term with 19 points and holding the Sharks to just 13 on the back of shooting 3/13 from behind the three-point line.

The Sharks were able to work back on top thanks to going on a 10-0 scoring run in the third quarter and the rest of the way there was no more than five points separating the two teams.

That five-point lead was in favour of Sutherland early in the fourth quarter when Aliza Fabbro knocked down a bucket and the Sharks remained on top narrowly until the final minute.

Daila Walker hit a three-pointer for Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai with 30 seconds to go before Jessie-May Hall scored to put them back in front but in the end Emily Garland was fouled attempting a three and made all three at the line for Sutherland to send the game to overtime.

Then in the extra five minutes, Maddie Norris hit the game's biggest shot with a three-pointer with just over a minute to play to put the Sharks up by four and they converted that into the three-point win.

The victory snaps a six-game losing run for Sutherland as they improve to a 2-8 record with Norris not only hitting that huge late shot but also delivering 30 points, 13 rebounds and four assists on 7/18 shooting from downtown.

Emily Garland added 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Vanessa Panousis 15 points, nine boards, four assists and four steals, and Olivia Douglas six points, 12 rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai have now lost six straight themselves to sit on a 3-6 record with Keira Hudson top-scoring with 21 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and two assists with 4/11 shooting from beyond the arc.

Jessie-May Hall also provided 17 points, six steals, six assists and five rebounds, Nicole Hutchins 14 points and 11 boards, and Ay'Anna Bey eight points, five rebounds and two steals.

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 79 (Norris 30, Garland 20, Panousis 15)

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 76 (Hudson 21, Hall 17, Hutchins 14)

Central Coast Crusaders (51) lost to Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (75)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles made it six straight victories putting in a dominant showing on the road to beat the Central Coast Crusaders 75-51.

The Sea Eagles arrived at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium having won their past five matches while the Crusaders had just the one win to their name so far in 2025 and they were without Mikaela Dombkins still.

Manly Warringah had built a 23-17 lead by the end of the first quarter before they held Central Coast to just seven points in the second on just 3/14 shooting.

The Sea Eagles put up 18 points themselves even while shooting 2/13 from three-point territory before the visitors went on to hold the 41-24 half-time advantage.

Manly Warringah completed a 13-0 run into the third quarter to open up a 25-point lead and that advantage got out to 29 in the fourth before they scored the 24-point victory.

The win improves the Sea Eagles to an 8-2 record on the season having now won six straight with Kim Dickinson delivering 18 points, five rebounds and two steals on 7/8 shooting.

Taylor Wurtz also had 12 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals, Zoey Miller 11 points, two boards and two assists, Josie Bulman 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists, and Alex Delaney 10 points, eight boards and eight assists.

Central Coast remain in bottom spot at 1-9 having now lost their past four matches with Jasmine Forcadilla finishing with 26 points with 6/9 shooting from three-point territory.

Leilani Mitchell added 10 points, three rebounds and two steals, Bronte Moore five points, five boards and four assists, and Elizajane Loader four points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 51 (Forcadilla 26, Mitchell 10, Moore 5)

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 75 (Dickinson 18, Wurtz 12, Miller 11)

Inner West Bulls (67) lost to Norths Bears (113)

Maddie O'Hehir, Peggy Schell and Caitlyn Martin combined for 70 points as the Norths Bears won big 113-67 on the road to the Inner West Bulls in a statement performance.

The Bulls were back on their home floor at Sydney Uni Sports and Aquatics Centre having won five of eight games this season, and coming off a 34-point win against the Penrith Panthers.

However, it was going to be a night to forget for them against the Bears who arrived on a mission to keep their undefeated record intact to start the season.

Norths were able to open up a 22-16 lead by the end of the first quarter having held the Bulls to shooting 6/23 from the floor in those first 10 minutes.

Both teams then found some impressive offensive flow in the second term combining for 59 points with the Bears producing another 34 points to 25 from the Bulls and that meant Norths were on top 56-41 heading into the main break.

The Bears were able to maintain that scoring pace with another 34 points in the third quarter as well on knocking down another six three-pointers as the lead blew out to 39 points thanks to a 15-0 scoring run.

Norths weren’t letting up from there either with that lead growing to 47 points before they secured the 46-point win on the back of shooting 51 per cent from the field and going 13/33 from downtown opposed to the 27 per cent from the Bulls who also went 5/28 from deep.

The Bears improve to a perfect 10-0 record to start the season ahead of hosting the Newcastle Falcons on Sunday with the defending champions fresh off losing at the same time on Saturday for the first time in 2025.

Maddie O'Hehir starred in the win for Norths with 26 points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds with Peggy Schell adding 25 points, eight boards and three assists, and Caitlyn Martin 19 points and five assists.

Carla Pitman also had nine points, 17 rebounds and four assists, Emma Donnelly nine points and five boards, and Ruby Perkins eight points and five assists.

It was a tough night for the Bulls despite the 31 points and seven rebounds from Kristina Moore while Tahlia Tupaea contributed 16 points, six boards, three assists and three steals, and Chieh Ou nine points, four rebounds and two assists.

INNER WEST BULLS 67 (Moore 31, Tupaea 16, Ou 9)

NORTHS BEARS 113 (O'Hehir 26, Schell 25, Martin 19)

Canberra Nationals (64) lost to Albury-Wodonga Bandits (96)

Emma Mahady and Riley Lupfer combined for 14 three-pointers and they weren’t even the top-scorers for the Albury-Wodonga Bandits in the 96-64 road victory over the Canberra Nationals.

The Bandits arrived in Canberra for their first of two games this weekend having won their past three matches as they started off on Saturday taking on the Nationals also coming off beating the Illawarra Hawks last Saturday.

It was Canberra who had the better of the start with 22 points to 19 in the first quarter but then Albury-Wodonga turned things around in the second frame by putting up 31 points thanks to knocking down eight of their 10 three-point attempts.

That led to the Bandits going into the half-time break leading 50-42 and they went on with it from there in the second half including another 21 points to 10 in the third frame to open up a 22-point lead.

That advantage then got out to 32 in the fourth quarter which was the final winning margin with Albury-Wodonga knocking down 17/33 from three-point range and showing 52 per cent as a team opposed to just the 32 from the Nationals who only went 5/24 from downtown too.

The victory is a fourth in-a-row for the Bandits as they improve to an 8-2 record ahead of a fascinating match up on Sunday with the Centre of Excellence.

The big guns of Albury-Wodonga all delivered with Caitie Jones top-scoring with 23 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while Brynn Masikewich added 19 points, nine boards and five assists.

Then there was Emma Mahady and Riley Lupfer who combined to shoot 14/19 from three-point range with making seven of them each.

Mahady ended up with 21 points, three assists and two rebounds, and Lupfer 21 points, nine boards, five assists and four steals.

The Nationals are now 4-5 on the season following the loss with Carlie McAlister finishing with 19 points, 14 rebounds and two steals.

Abby Solway also had 13 points and four assists, and Callie Bourne 11 points, six assists and five rebounds.

CANBERRA NATIONALS 64 (McAlister 19, Solway 13, Bourne 11)

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 96 (Jones 23, Lupfer 21, Mahady 21)

Sydney Comets (74) lost to Centre of Excellence (85)

Sitaya Fagan continued her scorching form for the Centre of Excellence leading her team to the 85-74 road victory over the Sydney Comets.

Sydney were back home at Comets Stadium looking to back up their last up win against the Sutherland Sharks as the hosted the Centre of Excellence who split their double last weekend beating the Bankstown Bruins but losing to the undefeated Norths Bears.

It would turn out to a tremendously tight contest through the first three quarters as well beginning with scores being all tied up at 20-20 by the quarter-time break.

The CoE did manage to open up a six-point lead in the second term but by half-time the Comets had whittled that back to just a lead of 43-42 fro the emerging stars out of Basketball Australia.

Then after the Centre of Excellence again led by six in the third quarter, Sydney hit back with five straight points and then even ended up briefly leading before by three quarter-time, scores were again square at 65-65.

It was in the fourth quarter that the CoE took control outscoring the Comets 20 points to nine on the back of shooting 9/14 from the field opposed to the 4/19 from Sydney.

That saw the Centre of Excellence secure the 11-point win to improve to 9-2 on the season ahead of taking on the also in-form Albury-Wodonga Bandits in a fascinating match up on Sunday.

Sitaya Fagan was ultimately the major difference between the two teams finishing with 32 points, 16 rebounds, three steals, three blocks and two assists to continue her remarkable run of form for the CoE.

Zara Russell also had 19 points and five rebounds, Isabel Smith 12 points, nine boards, eight assists and three steals, Zara Funnell 12 points and three rebounds, and Emilija Dakic seven points, five steals, four boards and three assists.

The Comets are now 4-6 and still sitting outside the top eight with Piper Anderson producing 26 points on 5/14 three-point shooting.

Abi Curtin added 23 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists, Alexandra Kayrouz seven points and four boards, and Alexandria Oliver seven points, 12 rebounds and three assists.

SYDNEY COMETS 74 (Anderson 26, Curtin 23, Oliver 7, Kayrouz 7)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 85 (Fagan 32, Russell 19, Funnell 12, Smith 12)

MEN

Hills Hornets (69) lost to Illawarra Hawks (94)

NBL championship pair Kobe McDowell-White and Todd Blanchfield combined for 57 points and the Illawarra Hawks made it three straight wins with the 94-69 win over the Hills Hornets.

The Hornets were back home at Hills Basketball Stadium attempting to bounce back from a last up loss to the Bankstown Bruins ahead of hosting a Hawks outfit having won their past two and trying to maintain touch with the top teams.

The Hornets started impressively opening up an early seven-point lead before the Hawks went on an 11-0 scoring run and ended up leading 25-24 by quarter-time.

Illawarra scored another 11 straight points in the second term and this time they opened up a 12-point lead and went into half-time on top 51-39.

The Hawks went on with the job from there with their lead getting out to 21 points in the third quarter and 25 in the fourth before they secured the 25-point victory.

The win improves Illawarra to a 7-3 record on the season having won three straight with point guard Kobe McDowell-White outstanding with 30 points, six steals and two assists on 4/7 shooting from behind the three-point line.

Todd Blanchfield also finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and there steals with Christian Maran contributing 20 points, four boards and four steals, and Lachlan Dent six points, eight assists and three rebounds.

The Hornets are now 4-6 having lost two in-a-row with Pafe Momoisea top-scoring with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 5/9 shooting.

Zach Hudson added 11 points, six assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks, Jacob Foy 11 points, three boards and two assists, Mitchell Smith 10 points and three rebounds, and Meekness Payne eight points and six boards.

HILLS HORNETS 69 (Momoisea 12, Hudson 11, Foy 11)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 94 (McDowell-White 30, Blanchfield 27, Maran 20)

Newcastle Falcons (94) lost to Bankstown Bruins (87)

Myles Cherry delivered 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists to lift the Newcastle Falcons to the 94-87 home win over a Bankstown Bruins team minus Jason Cadee.

Both teams came into the match up at Newcastle Basketball Stadium coming off losses to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders and Centre of Excellence respectively with both fighting over a place in the bottom part of the top eight.

It was a flying start away from home from the Bruins too as they piled on 32 points in the first quarter on 4/7 three-point shooting with the Falcons only managing the 13 points on 4/19 from the field.

That saw Bankstown already open up a 20-point advantage but Newcastle had begun to hit back with 26 points to 19 in the second term to cut the Falcons lead to 51-39 by half-time.

The Falcons then got rolling further in the third frame with 31 points to 16 on the back of shooting 11/16 from the floor which included knocking down 4/7 from the land of plenty.

Newcastle would end up scoring 18 straight points and lead by as much as 16 in the fourth quarter before holding out the Bruins for the eventual seven-point victory.

Myles Cherry starred in the win for the Falcons with 24 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocked shots on 9/16 shooting from the floor and 6/9 at the foul line.

Ryan Beisty added 16 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals, Eylijah Stephens 14 points, four boards and two assists, and Leo O'Boyle 10 points, four assists and three rebounds.

The win improves the Falcons to a 4-6 record on the season ahead of a clash with the Inner West Bulls on the road on Sunday

The Bruins are now 5-6 for the season following the defeat with Sydney Kings NBL forward Jaylin Galloway finishing with 17 points and two assists on 4/10 three-point shooting.

Dominique Keyes also had 23 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocks on 10/11 shooting, Andre Wolford 19 points and three assists with 5/8 shooting from downtown, and Hayden Blankley eight points, six rebounds and six assists.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS 94 (Cherry 24, Beisty 16, Stephens 14)

BANKSTOWN BRUINS 87 (Keyes 23, Wolford 19, Galloway 17)

Maitland Mustangs (101) defeated Penrith Panthers (50)

The defending champion Maitland Mustangs returned to the winner's list in emphatic fashion with the 101-50 home win over the Penrith Panthers.

The Mustangs had lost their past two matches to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Central Coast Crusaders, and three of their last four as their championship defence hit a speed bump ahead of returning home on Saturday night at Maitland Federation Centre.

The Panthers arrived fresh off their third win of the season as well against the Inner West Bulls but it was the Mustangs determined to make a statement from the outset and they piled on 29 points to nine in the opening quarter.

Maitland would continue to be in control of the contest the rest of the way as well with the lead growing to 27 points in the second quarter, 35 in the third and then 51 in the fourth before they ended up winning by 51 points.

The Mustangs finished the game shooting 51 per cent from the field to just 31 from the Panthers while hitting 11/26 from downtown to 5/24, and forcing Penrith into 28 turnovers from which they scored 17 points off.

Mandrell Worthy delivered 22 points, five assists and four rebounds in the win for Maitland while Christian Little added 14 points, 10 assists, five boards and two steals.

Luka Vea also had 13 points, three rebounds and two steals, Billy Parsons 11 points, 10 boards and three assists, Daniel Millburn 10 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Jay Cole eight points, five boards, four steals and two assists.

The Panthers are now 3-8 on the season following the defeat with Zeke Evans top-scoring with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Lachlan Charlton made 3/6 from downtown for nine points.

MAITLAND MUSTANGS 101 (Worthy 22, Little 14, Vea 13)

PENRITH PANTHERS 50 (Evans 12, Charlton 9, Pares 7)

Sutherland Sharks (87) defeated Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (65)

Jason Spurgin and Kouat Noi combined for 40 points and the Sydney Kings NBL pair led the Sutherland Sharks to the 87-65 win over the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

The Sharks were back home at Sutherland Basketball Stadium looking to avoid a third straight defeat as they took on a Spiders outfit who had won their first two games of the season following six consecutive losses.

That added plenty of added intrigue to the Saturday night match up and Sutherland opened up a six-point lead in the first quarter before still being on top 25-22 by quarter-time.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai worked on top in the second term, though, with 21 points to 13 while hitting 4/11 from behind the three-point line and by half-time the Spiders were leading 43-38.

Things completely dried up then for the Spiders in the third quarter when they only managed three points for the entire 10 minutes on the back of only shooting 1/13 from the field.

Opposed to that, Sutherland piled on 25 points including 12 of those in-a-row with the lead for the Sharks getting out to 17 points before it grew to 28 in the final period and they ended up scoring the 22-point victory.

Sutherland ended up shooting 52 per cent from the field to 36 from Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai while the Sharks also forced the Spiders into 22 turnovers from which they scored 16 points off.

Sutherland improves to a 7-3 record as a result of the bounce back win at home with Sydney Kings pair Kouat Noi and Jason Spurgin leading the charge.

Noi finished with 20 points, three rebounds and three assists on 4/9 three-point shooting with Spurgin delivering 20 points, five steals and four rebounds on 9/11 shooting.

Luke Jamieson added 11 points and eight rebounds, Ryan Abbott 11 points and six boards, and Adrian Cabrera nine points and two rebounds on 3/3 shooting

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai couldn’t quite make it three straight wins to now be 2-7 on the season with Akil Douglas top-scoring with 18 points to go with six rebounds and two steals on 8/11 shooting from the floor.

Steven Hall added 14 points and two assists, Daniel Titus 13 points, five assists, three rebounds and three blocks, and Nathaniel Chappell eight points and six boards.

SUTHERLAND SHARKS 87 (Spurgin 20, Noi 20, Abbott 11, Jamieson 11)

HORNSBY KU-RING-GAI SPIDERS 65 (Douglas 18, Hall 14, Titus 13)

Central Coast Crusaders (78) lost to Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (86)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles had six players scoring in double-figures led by captain Mason Bragg with 19 to go with eight assists in the 86-78 win against the Central Coast Crusaders.

The Crusaders were back home at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium looking to bounce back from a loss to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits while the Sea Eagles arrived fresh off a pair of wins last weekend against the Maitland Mustangs and Sutherland Sharks.

With Manly Warringah coming into the game at 5-4 and Central Coast at 4-5, it loomed as a potentially defining match up too in the race for a top eight position.

Central Coast started well on their home floor to be leading 24-21 by quarter-time before Manly Warringah took control in the second period with 25 points to 14 on the back of going on an 8-0 scoring run.

That saw the Sea Eagles leading 46-38 by half-time and then they continued to build on that lead with it getting out to 16 points in the third quarter before they went on to score the eight-point victory away from home.

The win improves Manly Warringah to a 6-4 record on the season with Mason Bragg showing the way with 19 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Isaiah Lee also had 18 points on 4/10 three-point shooting, Stefan Valkovic 12 points on 3/4 shooting from deep, Matthew Eldridge 11 points and 12 rebounds, Preston Purifoy 11 points and two boards, and Jamie Munro 11 points and four rebounds.

Central Coast are now 4-6 following the defeat which saw Garric Young finish with 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks, and Ilisia Washington 17 points, four boards and two assists.

Lino Manhom also produced 16 points and 14 rebounds on 7/7 shooting, Luke Cassidy 13 points, eight assists and five boards, and Klairus Amir 13 points and three rebounds.

CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 78 (Young 17, Washington 17, Manhom 16)

MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 86 (Bragg 19, Lee 18, Valkovic 12)

Inner West Bulls (81) defeated to Norths Bears (68)

The Inner West Bulls snapped their losing streak at the expense of the Norths Bears with the 81-68 home victory on the back of 25 points from Nick Timonera.

The Bulls were back home at Sydney Uni Sports and Aquatic Centre having lost their previous five matches ahead of hosting a Bears team also fresh off a 23-point loss at the hands of the Centre of Excellence.

Even though Inner West did make 4/8 from three-point range in the first quarter, they were only clinging to a 20-19 lead by quarter-time before only extending that to 38-35 by the half-time interval.

It was then still just a three-point lead for the Bulls at three quarter-time, but it was in the final quarter they took control outscoring the Bears 28 points to 18 on the back of shooting 9/13 from the field which including going 4/8 from behind the arc.

That led to Inner West securing the eventual 13-point victory to snap a five-match losing slide and to improve to a 4-6 record ahead of playing host to the Newcastle Falcons on Sunday.

Nicko Timonera delivered 25 points, six rebounds and two assists in the win for the Bulls on the back of shooting 9/14 from the field and 4/8 from three-point land.

Ramon Cao added 14 points and nine rebounds, Maxwell Clark 12 points, seven assists, four steals and two boards, Kwabena Brefo 11 points and six rebounds, and Dalen Ridgnal nine points, 12 boards and two blocked shots.

The Bears are now sitting at 4-6 as well following the defeat with Austin Patterson producing 26 points, five rebounds and four assists with Iggy Mitchell adding 11 points, six boards, three assists and two steals, and Matthew Wacher 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.

INNER WEST BULLS 81 (Timonera 25, Cao 14, Clark 12)

NORTHS BEARS 68 (Patterson 26, Mitchell 11, Wacher 10)

Canberra Gunners (107) defeated Albury-Wodonga Bandits (82)

The Canberra Gunners shook off a three-game losing streak to get their 2025 season back on track with he 107-82 victory at home to the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

On the back of playing in two of the last three grand finals in the NBL1 East and winning the championship back in 2022, Canberra started 2025 in imposing form with six consecutive victories.

The Gunners then lost the grand final rematch to the Maitland Mustangs and suffered subsequent defeats to the Newcastle Falcons and Illawarra Hawks which they were trying to shake off when back home on Saturday at Belconnen Basketball Stadium.

Meanwhile, Albury-Wodonga arrived fresh off their second win of the season last Saturday against the Central Coast Crusaders and they were looking to build on that momentum.

Determined to avoid a fourth straight loss, the Gunners started strongly on their home floor with 27 points to 19 in the first quarter before leading by as much as 12 in the second term, and being on top 53-45 at half-time.

The Gunners then took further control with 25 points to 13 in the third frame and that was enough to set up the eventual 25-point victory to see Canberra steady their season with a 7-3 record after those three losses.

Derek Emelifeonwu ended up top-scoring in the win for the Gunners with 21 points and four assists on 9/13 shooting from the field and 3/4 from behind the three-point arc.

Will Mayfield added 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals with William Rice contributing 17 points on 4/8 three-point shooting, and Glenn Morison 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and two blocked shots.

James Toohey also had 10 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals, and Angus Byatt 10 points, four assists, two boards and two steals.

Albury-Wodonga remained anchored to bottom place at 2-8 ahead of taking on the league-leading Centre of Excellence now on Sunday also in Canberra.

Ahren Freeman produced 20 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Bandits, Immanuel Allen 20 points, six boards and tow steals, and Matthew Gray 16 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.

CANBERRA GUNNERS 107 (Emelifeonwu 21, Mayfield 18, Rice 17)

ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 82 (Freeman 20, Allen 20, Gray 16)

Sydney Comets (84) defeated Centre of Excellence (75)

Davo Hickey and Biwali Bayles combined for 46 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists as the Sydney Comets snapped the winning run of the Centre of Excellence with an 84-75 home victory.

The two teams entered Saturday night's game at Comets Stadium in impressive form with the Comets on a three-game winning streak while the Centre of Excellence sat two games clear in top spot having won seven in-a-row.

Scores were then all level by the end of the first quarter at 22-22 as well before the Comets managed to take a narrow 41-39 lead into half-time largely thanks to making 6/11 of their three-point attempts to 5/13 from the CoE.

The Comets then did make their move in the third stanza by scoring seven straight points to open up a 12-point lead, and while they could never fully shake off the Centre of Excellence, Sydney did end up prevailing by nine points.

It's a fourth successive win for the Comets this season to improve to a 7-3 record and the star back court pairing of Davo Hickey and Biwali Bayles proved to be the difference.

Fresh off his starring role in the NBL championship at the Illawarra Hawks and ahead of playing NBA Summer League, Hickey delivered 25 points and nine rebounds on 9/20 shooting from the field, 3/10 from downtown and 4/4 at the foul line.

Bayles also had 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds with Goc Malual contributing 11 points and eight boards, and Obi Kyei nine points, three rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and two steals.

The Centre of Excellence remain in top spot at 9-2 ahead of hosting the bottom placed Albury-Wodonga Bandits on Sunday with Jacob Furphy top-scoring with 22 points on 4/7 three-point shooting.

Che Brogan added 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, Luke Fennell 11 points, and Ladji Coulibaly four points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

SYDNEY COMETS 84 (Hickey 25, Bayles 21, Malual 11)

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 75 (Furphy 22, Brogan 13, Fennell 11)